Monday, September 30, 2013

Are you ready to take the challenge!?!
The goal of this challenge is to read books that are set in each of the fifty states. Your books can be of any genre and any format (ie. paperback, ebook, audiobook, etc.). No short stories. Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are fine. (Re-read reviews must be written within the year 2013; you can not use old reviews.)
You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them. The idea of this challenge came from a Goodreads group.

**Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
**Non-Bloggers: Sign up in the comments section. Post your reviews with other book sites (ie. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc.) and post the link in the comments section of the 50 States Reading Challenge. (will post January 1).
When you sign up on Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your blog post about this challenge. Include a link to this post, so that your followers can sign up too! You can either list your books on your challenge post, sidebar, or a page dedicated to your challenges.

As bloggers we are all on timetables to read books, get reviews posted, host giveaways, etc. But we also travel around to other blogs and see books we would just like to read because of their recommendation or the cover or title catches our interest. The Meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?” adds more books to my Wish List and To-Be-Read pile every week.

As followers you get our recommendations, win books from us, pick up books at the library or buy them at a store. But our lives are so busy these books sometimes sit in our To-Be-Read piles for months or even years.

This is the third year I am hosting this challenge to encourage you to read some of those books. 12 books in 12 months.

This reading challenge is hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into A Good Book. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

January
February - A Century of Service: DAR Story by Ann Arnold Hunter
March
April
June - Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
July
August
September - Disney in the Shadow (Kingdom Keepers #3)by Ridley Pearson (Audio)
October
November
December

Socially awkward geneticist Quinn Strickland has willingly forgone the pleasures in life to reach her career objectives. Alone and approaching thirty, she uses her independence to mitigate any risk of a broken heart. Her strategy works until the day a handsome stranger bursts into her lab and her orderly plans shoot straight to Hades. He claims to be her personal divine protector, a powerful, ancient warrior sent to defend a prophetic time bomb existing within her own genetic code.

The Scion’s alpha-geek Wyck is offered the opportunity of his immortal lifetime as head of his own covert operation. He arrives at a Colorado lab expecting starched white coats and sterile surroundings—not a redheaded spitfire in charge of both his project and his libido. His skills have carried him from the battlefields of ancient England to the pits of Hell and he has no plans to be felled by one woman, regardless of her shag-worthy charms. Divine duty requires him to protect the apocalyptic Seal encrypted within Quinn’s DNA, but his heart has other ideas. When his personal feelings interfere with his age-old vendetta, he’s forced to decide between desire and retribution.

Short Excerpt:

For the band of adopted heavenly brothers known collectively as the Scion, covert ops generally fell into two categories, crashing bore or glorious adventure. And after more than nine hundred years of divine missions, Wyck could tell the difference before the first volley fired.

He double-checked to make sure his ID badge was prominently displayed. Divinity had finally given him a second chance as mission leader and he intended to make sure this operation fell squarely into the epically awesome range despite his less than glamorous surroundings. This time, he vowed, there’d be no messy diversions to waylay his goals, no damsel in questionable distress to shred his heart to smithereens. Nope. This time he was fully prepared and would see his mission through to a successful end.

Wyck trudged up the sidewalk toward the imposing glass and steel Eugenicorp Labs building, craning his neck to see the top of the six-story structure. He was so engrossed in his perusal he nearly squashed a bedraggled squirrel limping across the pavement in front of him. Wyck glanced down and spotted a half-cracked acorn near the toe of his boot. Poor bugger must’ve dropped it in his hasty retreat.

His first inclination was to reach down and retrieve it, maybe place the nut near the roots of the giant tree where the squirrel now hid. But now wasn’t the time to get sidetracked. As his commander, Xander, had already warned him, such kindness had only added to his past failures.

He kicked the nut, watching as it hurtled through the open grassy area surrounding the complex, then strode through the automatic doors and into the cavernous lobby. Empty. Sterile. Utilitarian, covered in gleaming metal and glass. The décor - neutral grays and bland beiges - screamed restraint.

Okay, he amended. Maybe epic and awesome were pushing the envelope for this mission. Best to start with solidly successful. He blinked several times in the early morning sunshine and spotted the pinched, schoolmarm expression of a receptionist across the expanse.

Brilliant.

In his experience, mulish females appeared to be the rule in academia. Just one more reason he steered clear of the smart ones and stuck to his technology. Emotional evisceration was another, but he refused to dwell on that now. Gadgets and science had always been his safe refuge. They trustworthy.

He proceeded across the pristine white-tile floor and when the receptionist steadfastly ignored him, Wyck coughed and summoned his most charming smile. “Hi, I’m Orson Parrot, the new bloke.”

The woman glanced up from her computer screen and ran a disdainful eye over him, her glare burning a hole through his extended hand. Her scowl increased as she snatched a clipboard from the desk’s immaculate surface and skimmed a bony digit down the list. She tapped her finger twice beside one line and stared back at him, her demeanor cold enough to freeze hydrogen, then pointed toward a pair of glass doors across the lobby. “Through there.”

He leaned forward to thank her only to be confronted by a strip of red fabric. Dangling from the receptionist’s hand, it swung in crazy, lopsided circles to tap him squarely on the chest. “You’ll need this,” she said, her tone a perfect match for the Queen’s after a distasteful tabloid scandal.

Wyck caught the twirling lanyard, with its attached security keycard, and placed it around his neck. He couldn’t resist giving the woman a wink and a grin on his way out, and was delighted when she stiffened like rawhide. A fellow had to have some fun.

He headed toward the double doors across the atrium, his mind ticking with details. This rare shot at redemption, plus the added potential for delivering a digital smackdown to his longtime enemies, the Nephilim, had him jumping at the chance to infiltrate the Eugenicorp’s computer system. Getting back in the field again would prove more enjoyable than his usual long hours of tedious research for his brother’s quests. Not to mention turning down an assignment from Divinity wasn’t really an option. She’d given the Scion many blessings, but freewill over their assignments wasn’t one of them.

If his hunches were correct, his new logic bomb would blow the fucking cork right off the half-breeds’ schemes for a new world order. By utilizing their legitimate business arm in the human realm, Tolbert International, the Nephilim had been quietly amassing huge quantities of money for centuries, branching out into everything from pharmaceuticals to produce. The Internet had been buzzing for months with rumors of an eminent Tolbert takeover of a genetics research facility and Divinity had sent him to Eugenicorp to make sure those takeover plans didn’t include the Seal currently hosted by one head scientist or the top-secret project she commandeered.

He used his new keycard to enter a glass-lined walkway and caught sight of his reflection. Christ Almighty. He’d done a wicked job of turning his normal hipster persona into Orson Parrott—Super Brain Extraordinaire.

Attired in a scholarly turtleneck and khakis, he couldn’t have been further from his normal choice of t-shirt and jeans. Between his helmet hair and the tatty, empty briefcase he carried, there was little sign of the tousled charmer who’d enticed a cute barista to bed during his last reconnaissance mission here a few months earlier.

Goodbye quick tumbles. Hello brainy celibate.

Wyck passed from the atrium into another adjoining lobby and glanced at the office number scribbled across his palm in blue ballpoint ink. 5324. He pushed the button for the next arriving elevator, whistling while he waited.
Sure, he’d performed a teensy bit of cyber-fraud by uploading his own credentials and employee demographics into the Eugenicorp HR files and he’d picked out a nice cushy office with a window, close to his target and close to the vending machines. Perfect.

Speaking of his target, the buttoned-down woman wasn’t one he looked forward to meeting. From everything he’d read about the third Seal’s unwitting host, she was smarter than sin and as enticing as a good bout of bubonic plague. No thank you.

A determined clack of heels echoed against the tile behind him and he swiveled toward the noise, just in time to see a flash of bright red hair barge through the gathering crowd and into the elevator. People stepped back, some headed for the stairs, as if the woman now occupying the compartment might spontaneously combust at any moment.

About the Author:

Traci is the author of paranormal romance/urban fantasy and contemporary romances featuring a sly, urban edge, including her current Seven Seals series. Her stories feature sizzling alpha-male heroes full of dark humor, quick wits and major attitudes; smart, independent heroines who always give as good as they get; and scrumptiously evil villains who are—more often than not—bent on world destruction. She enjoys weaving ancient curses and mythology, modern science and old religion, and great dialogue together to build red-hot, sizzling chemistry between her main characters.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Indiana Romance Writers of America (IRWA) and Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Writers (FF&P) and is pursing a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction through Seton Hill University. Her stories have made the final rounds in several RWA chapter contests, including the 2012 Duel on the Delta, the 2012 Molly Awards, and the 2012 Catherine Awards. An earlier draft of the first book in the Seven Seals Series, Seal of Destiny, won the paranormal category of the 2012 Marlene Awards sponsored by the Washington Romance Writers.
Other current projects include upcoming books in the Seven Seals series, a new contemporary novella series due out in early 2014, and a new futuristic suspense series with hints of the paranormal and plenty of romance.

To participate all you have to do is create a post announcing your participation with a link to the challenge in and sign up with the link below. If you don't have a blog you can make a post on Goodreads or Shelfari.

Last year I had several folks either discover this reading challenge late in the game or who enjoyed it so much that they asked me to host again. Just this week I've had requests from the color fans asking for another round. So, for your challenge reading pleasure, I will once again host The Color Coded Reading Challenge beginning January 2013. Since this is my third year in, I've loosened the categories up a bit--I will now accept any shade of the required colors.

Here are the rules:

*Read nine books in the following categories.

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc.) in the title.

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgundy, etc.) in the title.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)in the title.

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc.) in the title.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc.) in the title.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc.) in the title.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc.)in the title.

8. A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magenta, etc.).

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2013 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

*Everyone who completes all nine categories will be entered in a year-end drawing for a book-related prize package.

*Please sign up using the Linky [at the host’s site]. Give your name & blog (Example: Bev @ My Reader's Block) and use a direct link to your challenge post as your url. Please don't connect to just your home page. Links to a list on GoodReads or other social media sites are also acceptable.

*Please use the Review Page to post review links and a final wrap-up post when you finish the challenge. (Review Page Link coming soon)

*No blog or GoodReads site? That's okay. Post a comment [at the host’s site] to announce your entry into the challenge and when you have completed the challenge just post a comment at the review site with a list of your books.

This reading challenge is hosted by My Reader's Block. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The 2013 Ebook Challenge. Encouraging readers to expand past just physical books to embrace ebooks in all forms, whether on Kindle, Kobo, computer, or any other reader.

Challenge Guidelines:

This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013.
Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger. If you don’t have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
You can plan your books in advance or as you read them.
When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
You can move up levels, but no moving down.
Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
Levels:

Floppy disk – 5 ebooks
CD – 10 ebooks
DVD – 25 ebooks
Memory stick – 50 ebooksHard drive – 75 ebooks I'm going for this one
Server – 100 ebooks
Human brain – 150 ebooks
At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews for that month. The linky will remain open for the remainder of the year, so if you forget, feel free go back and add them when you remember.

There will be a giveaway at the end of the year for eveyone who achieves their goal level (or higher). If you are an author or publisher and want to contribute to the prize, please contact me.

Here are the details…
• The challenge will run from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013
• You can choose you level of commitment

First Base - 1-3 books
Second Base - 4-7 books
Third Base - 8-11 books
Let’s go all the way,baby! -12 and more

(Ok, maybe those level names are kind of lame but it’s late at night. If you have other suggestions,I’m all ears)
• You can read short stories,novels,memoirs, or even audiobooks. Just as long as they all are considered erotica.
• You don’t have to pre-select what you’re going to read or submit any list prior to joining in. Just jump in and read what you want throughout the year
• When you’ve finished a book you can:
Write a review on your own blog and enter the link in Mr Linky below OR
Give a mini-review in the comment section here if you don’t have a blog

Depending on how things go throughout the year (for me…not you all), I’d like to have a drawing periodically for an appropriately themed prize (sex toys, maybe?) . If that happens, it would be done in a drawing based on how many entries you have in the Mr Linky section or per review in the comments…so make sure you update with your reviews ! Even if we don’t have a drawing, it’s still nice to read other’s reviews to get more ideas of books you can add to your To Read List, right?
I’ll make a button you can put on your own blog one of these days very soon, so check back to grab that.

Looking for some suggestions of what to read? Here’s some : Best Erotica for the Well-Read Woman (with more to be added. I also will probably add some as the challenge goes on based on positive reviews)
Ok. Now go find some hot books to read.

-Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Posting on GoodReads or wherever you post your reviews is good enough.

-Audio, eBooks, paper, re-reads all count.

-No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

There are four levels:

The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels. This is the Level I'm shooting for

The "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.

The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.

The Mega size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.

Challenge begins January 1st, 2013 -December 31, 2013.

Books started before the 1st do not count. You can join at anytime.

When you sign up under Linky, put the direct link to your post where your books will be listed. Include the URL to this post so that other viewers can find this fun challenge. If you’d prefer to put your list in the sidebar of your blog, please leave your viewers the link to the sign up page. Again, so viewers can join the challenge too.

Come link up at the beginning of each month to share your reviews!
-(this is optional, but we all love to hear your thoughts on books you have read!)

This reading challenge is hosted by My Overstuffed Bookshelf. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Seventeen-year-old Mae is convinced that the consequences of her poor decisions
have caused the untimely deaths of her dad, sister Laura, and grandma who all
die within a year, no matter how ludicrous her thoughts seem to those she
loves. The solution? Run away so no one else she cares for gets hurt (even if
she has to keep a GPS tracker on her phone at all times).

Desperate to earn her diploma and salvage something of her life, she transfers
schools when people get too close. After switching to Woodson Prep with only
two months to go until graduation, Mae keeps her goals in sight. But when she
meets Ty, the "perfect boy" with his own secrets and a relentless
interest in Mae, she must decide if she can stop running from the past and
still protect those she loves.

Excerpt

“Is this for me?” I ask as Ty stands in the center of the clearing with a yellow rose in one hand.
“No. It’s for that grandma who’ll be passing this area in about ten minutes. I’m just practicing my delivery.” He’s so cute when he’s being sarcastic. I take the rose. In an instant I am shocked back to the day of Laura’s funeral. Everyone in her sixth grade glass brought roses to the cemetery to lay upon her grave, yellow ones, her favorite color. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Ty asks. “Did I do something wrong?”
“N…no.”
“Your hand is shaking,” he says coming over to my side. “Sit down.” He points to the picnic table. “Mae, if you don’t tell me anything I won’t ever be able to help you. I want to help you. I know what it’s like to need help. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. And I’m willing to tell you. It’s weird because I hardly know anything about you, but I feel like we’re a lot alike.”
“We’re nothing alike,” I say. I want to tell him. But if I do? Then what? He won’t understand. No one does.
“Is yellow not a good color for brunettes?” he jokes. I can’t help but smile. He takes the rose, breaks off the stem, and tucks it behind my ear. He leans in to smell the rose and kisses my cheek. Only the crunching of sticks from the older couple on the path stops him from reaching my lips.

Available from:

About the Author

I am a former elementary school teacher and
currently run an elementary library which is the perfect job for my interests.

In October 2010 I had an essay published
in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories For
Mothers. Another essay will be published in November 2013
in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls.

In 2012 my debut picture book was
released by Bronze Man Books. Am I Like My Daddy? follows the
journey of a child who seeks to learn if she is anything like the dad who died
when she was young.

My middle grade novel, Confessions of a
Corn Kid, as well a YA short story trilogy, The Lexie and
Rhett Chronicles, and To Know Me, were released
direct to kindle in 2013.

I am a great eavesdropper and person profiler
which proves a fabulous advantage for a writer. As my favorite shirt says, Be
careful or you’ll end up in my novel.

3rd year running and OH I love this challenge! As the host of the weekly What Are you reading meme, I find it awesome that I get to host the WHERE Are You Reading Challenge each year. What is the point of this challenge? It is to try to read in each of the 50 States between January 1 2013 – December 31, 2013.

How do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1. In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in. (i.e.. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2. Non fiction reads categorize in whatever State or Country it is about (i.e.…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

3. If the book goes from one state to another… go with the state that most of the time is spent.

How to get started
Set up a map under Google Maps. It is easy to do! Every time you read a book in 2013, upload a cover picture to Picasa Web Albums (there may be other sites to use, feel free to use what works best for you).

Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in. Then come back and link that post here to Mr. Linky (below) so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing. I will post a linky at the end of each month so participants can check in with their own post of how they are doing. I will offer a $10 amazon gift card to one lucky participant who does a check in post at the end of each month and links it.

This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.

For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2013, they will go into a drawing for a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon. ** All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2013 in that category.

You can see my map I worked on in 2011 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews. (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

That’s it! Here is a link to tips on how to do it. Any other questions – please leave them in the comments section below.

I can’t wait to see WHERE You Are Reading!

This reading challenge is hosted by Book Journey. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Welcome to the 2013 Sequel Challenge, hosted by me! I personally am TERRIBLE about reading the first book in a series and never going any farther. I don't know why, but for some reason series intimidate me (especially if it's longer than a trilogy). I searched and searched for a challenge like this and couldn't find one, so I decided to make my own!
The goal: To read as many sequels as you can. You set your goal at whatever number works for you.
Guidelines
1. The challenge runs from January 1st to December 31st.
2. Any books started before Jan. 1 will not count.
3. Any book after the first book in a series counts. Books in the same series also count.
4. Novellas also count, as long as it is after book #1. (ex: #1.5, #2.5, etc.)
5. Sign ups will be open until December 1st, 2013.
6. Add the URL of your challenge post to the linky widget. (If you'd like to wait, it's ok to use your blog URL and send me your link when you get the post up)
7. At the end of each month I will post a linky for you to add your sequel reviews to.
8. I will try to do some giveaways throughout the year for participants (as long as I can afford it).
9. There will be a giveaway at the end of the year for all participants who completed the challenge.

This reading challenge is hosted by Auntie Spinelli Reads. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Cheryl from CMash Loves to Read and Gina from Hott Books are two such people. And they are the founding mothers of the Reading Challenge Addict Blog. Bev from and caretaker of the Blog. We each can stand proudly and say,

I am a Reading Challenge Addict.My Reader's Block is one with a HUGE problem and the current author

So we are challenging each of you who can also say that you also are a Reading Challenge Addict.
There will be random prizes and recognition for those who are meeting their own expectations by completing the challenges they've entered.

How addicted are you?

Easy as Pie: 1-5 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
On the Roof: 6-10 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
In Flight: 11-15 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
Out of This World: 16+ Challenges (Entered & Completed)I’ll be doing this one – I just have to keep better track

Rules:

We're not making this a difficult challenge, actually, it's going to be very simple!

The newest edition of the challenge will begin on January 1 and end on December 31, 2013.
Write a starting post joining the challenge and outlining your challenges.
Track all of your challenge accomplishments - good & bad.
Stop by to join us in the mini-challenges, updates & extra giveaways throughout the year.
Comment like crazy and offer support for your fellow addicts.
Have FUN!
Easy, right? Who wants to be in on the fun? What else will be on offer? Random giveaways for participants to enter and unannounced special drawings for commenters on the site so be sure to leave your email address with your comment! Are you ready?

This reading challenge is hosted by Reading Challenge Addict. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Technical Stuff
This challenge will run from January 1st, 2012 until December 31st, 2013.
You can join anytime.

Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z challenge.

A – Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A – The Azalea Assault B- Blue Monday C – Crops and Robbers D – A Deadly Grind etc.

OR

B – How I plan to do it: Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Hope that by the end of the year you have read one book for each letter. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

Ready to join??

Bloggers grab the button and make a post about the challenge to encourage others to join! Use the post URL in the linky below.

Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish and enter a link below if available or sign up in the comment section.

Are you a book addict? Well, are you? Are you that person who is always seen with your nose buried between the pages and never without a book or two nearby? Perhaps, your looking for the ultimate reading challenge?
Well then, the 2013 Read-A-Latte Challenge is just for you!
This is the place where I challenge you to read... -a- latte!

Here are the challenge details:
1. This challenge will begin on January 1st, 2013 and end December 31, 2013.
2. Books for this challenge can be from any genre and may include print books as well as e-books (please, no audio books). Sign-ups will close on September 1, 2013.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.
4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.
5. I will create a new post each month with a linky for your reviews. Also, I'll be offering quarterly reader gifts to the top three participants. I'll announce the winners on the last day of every three months. And at the end of the challenge I'll have a special bonus for the top three overall participants.
6. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

Welcome to the Original Audio Book Challenge. This challenge is for Audio Book lovers as well as those who are brand new to them.

There are five levels to the challenge
• Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books - I'm going to do this one
• Going Steady- Listen to 12 Audio Books
• Lover- Listen to 25 Audio Books
• Married-Listen to more than 25 Audio Books
• You Define the Relationship- Create your own challenge (choose your own name and level starting as low or going as high as you’d like)

This is a fairly laid back challenge and I want it to be as enjoyable as possible.

• Audio Books can be any genre
• You can cross challenges
• You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. You can tell us about what you are listening to in the comments of the monthly link up.

There will be a monthly link up so that we can share what we’ve listened to and make suggestions to each other.

I hope I’ve enticed you to join in the 2013 Audio Book Challenge. I’m really looking forward to reading your reviews and experiences over the next year.

For me 100 books is not a problem to read for one year. I know there are a lot of people out there who can read more than the base line of 100.
So....this year I am not only challenging myself, I am going to challenge you to read even more this year!
The goal is to reach 150+ books for this challenge. Now don't get discouraged! I know 150 books or more sounds like a lot. When you read the rules below though, you will find that it is quite easy to reach 150 books.
Don't be shy! Come sign up and spread the word! The challenge doesn't officially start until January 1st, 2013. Only books read on this date or after count towards the challenge.

DETAILS/RULES:

1. The goal is to read 150 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Posting on GoodReads or wherever you post your reviews is good enough.
2. Allowed are: Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Manga, Graphic Novels, Library books, Novellas, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.
What doesn't count: Individual short stories or individual books in the Bible and comic books.
3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.
5. Challenge begins January 1st, 2013 thru December 31, 2013. Books started before the 1st do not count. You can join at anytime.
6. When you sign up under Linky, put the direct link to your post where your books will be listed. Include the URL to this post so that other viewers can find this fun challenge. If you’d prefer to put your list in the sidebar of your blog, please leave your viewers the link to the sign up page. Again, so viewers can join the challenge too.
READY......SET.....SIGN UP!!!!

January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013
Our love of reading can be expensive! Not only are we purchasing books but we also need space to keep them. I've started using the library (again) but couldn't find a challenge to help me. Here it is. There are a number of levels, for those who don't have a library card yet to those that live there. Enjoy!
Requirements:
• choose a level - you may move up as needed, just not down.
• check books out of the library
• books may overlap with other challenges
• any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)
• reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is.
• a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in

Sunday, September 29, 2013

We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves by Tynga's Reviews is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Things readers will be surprised to know about me (They surprise me too!)

I didn’t start out to be a writer, though I’ve always loved reading and revered books as if they were manna from heaven. I always wanted to be a physician, walk around in a white coat looking important and helping people, of course! So I ended up becoming one.

Most of those who know me or think they know me can’t believe that I wrote 'An Incurable Insanity'. Perhaps because they usually encounter a somber and solitary person? They are surprised, pleasantly I think after reading what I’ve written. So let me set the record straight---my book is the real me: frank, down to earth and with a quirky sense of humor. Read it and you will agree.

Writing began as a cure for stress and insomnia. Never a big fan of the Idiot Box (pun not intended), or artificial tranquilizers, I resorted to the pen and it proved to be one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Life inspires me, so does music and nature. I get ideas all the time, while driving in my car and even when I’m asleep. Creativity is a constant process.

For me writing is not a career, it is much more. It's an intimate part of my life; deeply personal and emotional. It has become a favorite friend and companion. And so have my readers, I love to connect with them and participating in a dialogue. That is the reason why I began writing in the first place. So I welcome everybody to connect with me here: http://simikrao.wordpress.com/ and you can be assured of a reply. Happy reading!

Simi K. Rao

Book Excerpt

1: Disillusion
Ruhi Sharma was a blushing bride, practically a newlywed, locked up in this glittering cage for almost a month, twenty-nine days to be exact; an object of envy of all her friends and family.
Twenty-nine days ago, she had signed her name beside his on the marriage certificate. She had gone through all the miscellaneous ceremonies associated with the typical grand Indian wedding—the engagement, the Mehendi, the Sangeet, the Haldi, and the grand finale (her father had spared no expense) until finally her betrothed had staked his claim by placing the Sindoor on her forehead and tying the Mangalsutra around her neck, and she had quietly and blissfully followed him around the sacred fire carefully listening to and reciting the Saath Pheras in her mind.
She was the very beautiful and accomplished daughter of Amrit and Devyani Sharma, the apple of their eye, and they had left no stone unturned in raising her the best way they possibly could.
Friends and family were surprised for not only had Ruhi been provided with a very good education, she held an MBA from a leading institution, but her parents had also made sure that she was adept in all other various skills, which a well-bred traditional Indian girl is desired to be proficient in. Therefore, nobody marveled when marriage proposals came pouring in from all directions.
But the Sharmas were choosy; they wanted only the best for their golden child, and they did get it, or so they surmised.
The idea of giving their daughter’s hand in marriage to the well-accomplished son of the most well-known family in Chandigarh was beyond their wildest imagination. It was wilder because they hadn’t gone in search of it, rather it had come and landed on their lap.
Shaan, the youngest and most eligible of the Ahuja clan, was twenty-seven, a fresh aerospace masters grad from a premier engineering institute located in the Los Angeles county of United States, California, who had already bagged a plum job in a leading aeronautics and space exploration company in sunny LA.

“My son makes interplanetary spacecraft. He’s the man of the future” had become the proud and frequent rant of Mr. Shiv Ahuja, who for some odd reason seemed to be trying to paint his son in the most rosy of tones even though he really didn’t need to, for as soon as Ruhi saw her future husband’s likeness, she lost her heart, and there was no question of a retrieval.
---o---
“Chai?”

“Huh? Yes please with just a pinch of sugar. Thanks!” He took the cup from her hands, careful not to touch her fingers.

Ruhi closed her eyes; she could now repeat every movement, every word by rote. He was a creature of habit…and she was bored. What was supposed to be the most exciting time in every young woman’s life had turned out to be the worst…Well, not really. He wasn’t mean, rather he was the perfect gentleman, too perfect!

Oh how she wished he would rather be screaming mean and nasty. At least that would bring some excitement into her not so-happening life! She laughed, pausing as she brushed her long black hair, rather hysterically.

The bombshell had dropped on their wedding night. He had walked into the room late as she sat there, a shy bride in all her wedding finery waiting, nervous yet excited at the same time, to meet the man she had hardly spoken to or looked at. What would he say, talk about, or do?
She had heard a lot of stories about what to expect, some factual and some fabricated (her friends had prepared her well), but she wanted her own to be special, unique, and it was…
Sitting down on the bed in front of her, he had taken her hand in his and said very gently, as if to tone down the trauma, “I bet you are one of the most beautiful brides in the world, but I’m sorry I cannot make love to you. There is someone else.”

Not sure if she’d heard right, Ruhi had watched puzzled as he lay down on the mattress and turned his back to her. Is that it? A plain and blunt dismissal of her dreams, her life? Was that all?

Simi K. Rao

Simi K. Rao was born in India and has been living in the United States for several
years. This book is her first foray into writing. The inspiration for the story came
from what she has seen transpire among and within the immigrant community.
Some of the experiences included are her own; some have been garnered from
friends and casual conversations with acquaintances. She also writes poetry, is
an avid photographer, loves to travel, and is a practicing physician. She currently
lives in Denver with her family.

You can connect with the author and read more of her work on her website atwww.simikrao.com

It’s been three months since Nadine last heard from Victor, Micah or Ceris, allowing her to concentrate on her own life. But until Victor and Micah find the scepters that will restore them as true gods, their human bodies will require her healing touch and it’s only a matter of time until they wreak havoc on her life again.

As if to prove that, Victor shows up at the hospital dragging along with him a swarm of demons. Nadine is forced to flee to safety. Despite her attempts to keep her loved ones protected, the demons find her, and they bring her to Imha, the goddess of Chaos.

Now, confronted by her greatest fear, Nadine finds a new motivation. Vengeance. And when seeking revenge, no risk is too great, including her own life.

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.